The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, method and computer-readable medium and, more particularly, to an information processing apparatus, method and computer-readable medium for creating, displaying and synchronizing audio, pictorial and textual data with video information.
Standards exist, or have been proposed, for displaying information and data, including moving images, still images, sound and text in response to a user""s interactive commands, and for synchronously displaying such information and data. One such standard, proposed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), is that defined by the Multimedia and Hypermedia Information Coding Experts Group (MHEG). Another standard is that defined by the Advanced Television Enhancement Forum (ATVEF), a consortium of broadcast and cable networks, consumer electronics companies, television transport operators and technology companies.
Information such as that corresponding to the MHEG standard or the ATVEF standard (hereinafter referred to generally as xe2x80x9cmultimedia informationxe2x80x9d) can be provided to a viewer in a television broadcast. Other methods of transmission and display are contemplated, however, including over the Internet to computers.
Multimedia information generally changes little with respect to the video to which it corresponds. To provide multimedia information at an appropriate time, however, the multimedia information should be synchronized with the video to which it corresponds (for example, the moving images of a television broadcast). An authoring system or authoring tool for creating such synchronized multimedia information, however, does not exist. An object of the present invention is to provide such an authoring system or authoring tool.
The present invention provides an information processing system and method. The system includes means for specifying multimedia information and video with which the multimedia information is synchronized, means for creating the multimedia information and means for setting the timing for displaying scenes of the multimedia information to synchronize this information with the video. The method includes specifying multimedia information and video with which the multimedia information is to be synchronized, creating the multimedia information and setting timing for displaying scenes of the multimedia information to synchronize this information with the video. A computer-readable medium containing code for executing this method also is provided. In preferred embodiments, the multimedia information is either MHEG information or ATVEF information.
The specifying means preferably comprises a contents creating section for identifying the contents of the multimedia information and of the video with which the multimedia information is to be synchronized. The creating means preferably comprises a scene creating section for creating scenes of the multimedia information, and the setting means preferably comprises means for identifying the video""s starting time for displaying scenes of the multimedia information synchronized with such starting time.
The information processing system preferably also comprises a display, and a display controller, for displaying a time axis of the video and symbols corresponding to a hierarchy of the scenes. The information processing system preferably also comprises means for setting a synchronization flag for activating or deactivating synchronized playback of the multimedia information with the video. A mid-processing playback flag for allowing or disallowing mid-processing display of an image also preferably is provided. Disallowing such mid-processing display prevents the image""s display to a viewer who begins viewing the video at a point when the image""s display would be meaningless.
The information processing system preferably also comprises managing means for organizing, in a hierarchical manner, the multimedia information into contents, scenarios and scenes and for managing this hierarchical structure. Means for setting the priority level of a scene, such that the rate at which the scene is transmitted from a broadcast station corresponds to a viewer""s likelihood of selecting the scene for display, also preferably is provided.
The information processing apparatus preferably also comprises means for setting a display mode flag for determining whether a viewer can control the multimedia information""s display. The setting of this flag prevents the viewer from switching off this display.